Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that the virus and its political, economic, and public health implications have led to profound, if uneven, effects on human society. The restrictions imposed by political and public health responses to COVID have curbed social interactions, limited physical movement, and challenged the functions and experiences of the home as a space of comfort and site of intimacy. On November 5, the DIJ will host the international workshop The Intimate in and beyond Pandemic Times: Family, Personal Relationships and Singlehood to discuss multi-dimensional effects of the pandemic and its global and local influences on the intimate. Its speakers will introduce results of a large-scale survey conducted in January 2021 and address stay-at-home policies, teleworking, domestic violence, personal space, cohabitation among same-sex couples, and (solo)sociality. The workshop is organised by DIJ social scientist Nora Kottmann, Akiko Yoshida (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Wisconsin and Scholar in Residence, DIJ Tokyo), and Laura Dales (University of Western Australia). Registration and details here

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Okinawa’s return to the mainland on 15 May 1972. In the special exhibition ‚Ryukyu/Okinawa: 50 years since the reversion of Okinawa‘, the libraries of the International House of Japan, the Maison franco-japonaise, and the DIJ exhibit research books and articles on the history and culture of Ryukyu and Okinawa written in English, German, and French. The exhibition at the DIJ is open to the public from 4 October to 30 November. For more information on opening times and entry regulations, please contact our library. Details here

To commemorate the new academic exchange agreement between the DIJ and the International Research Center for Japanese Studies (Nichibunken), researchers from both institutes will discuss the state and future of research in Japanese Studies at the 249th Nichibunken Evening Seminar on October 6. They will discuss Japan as a research object from Japanese and foreign perspectives and address the challenges for international Japanese Studies. The DIJ delegation will include director Franz Waldenberger, deputy director Barbara Holthus, research fellows Barbara Geilhorn, Nora Kottmann, Harald Kümmerle, and David M. Malitz. The seminar will be held in hybrid format at the Nichibunken in Kyoto and online (Zoom). It will be moderated by Edward Boyle, Associate Professor at the International Research Center for Japanese Studies. Details and registration here

The sheer volume of numbers, data, and facts is growing and the speed of generating scientific knowledge is ever accelerating. As access to knowledge is becoming more global and digital through open-source projects, its reliability, verifiability, and accessibility has been called into question. But establishing a sustainable knowledge infrastructure can also be a key to securing economic growth, welfare, and individual well-being. Together with Thomas Elm (Managing Director Europe, Goodpatch GmbH), DIJ director Franz Waldenberger will discuss how a stable knowledge infrastructure can be created and sufficiently maintained. What are the challenges to providing this infrastructure for and with an intercultural Japanese-German background? What is the potential of the digital transformation for growth and a reliable knowledge infrastructure? This on-site event takes place on September 13 at the Japanese-German Center Berlin as part of the ‚Hiru no kai‘ discussion series, organised by the Japanese-German Business Association (DJW). Details and registration here